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Friday, 22nd July 2016
In Japan Entertainment News,
Vote opens to choose 88 manga pilgrimage spots
A vote is underway to find a definitive list of 88 sites across Japan that all manga aficionados should visit.
The poll has been set up by Kadokawa Corp, a comic book publisher, with a vested interest in tourists turning manga locations into pilgrimage spots.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, chairman of the company, announced the vote and said he hoped it would help to promote tourism to Japan.
He added: “Some 2,000 fans from around the world have already cast their votes online in the last couple of days.
“If you would like your favorite spots to be one of the 88 pilgrimages, vote now!”
The results of the Anime Tourism 88-Stop Pilgrimage project will be announced in the Newtype magazine by the end of the year, as the publication is a partner in the initiative.
Sites to be featured are real-life places that have provided the backdrops for love affairs and space warfare in the fictional escapades of anime characters.
To cast their votes, fans are asked to head to http://animetourism88.com/en/ where the poll is taking place.
While on the site, visitors will also be able to get an exclusive screensaver for their computer once they’ve submitted their vote.
Anime tourism isn’t a new thing in Japan, with the Japan National Tourism Organization having already put together a map for fans to find some of their favourite locations.
It includes the likes of Nipponbashi Otaku Road in Osaka, Akihabara in Tokyo and the Tenjin area of Fukuoka.
The characteristic style of Japanese anime, which is now loved all over the world, was first seen in the 1960s in Osamu Tezuka’s work and has been evolving ever since.